


Now You See Me

by chairmancatsby



Series: 12 Days of MaleChristmas [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: AU, Alec still has a lot to say, Bittersweet, Guardian Angels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 16:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13217496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chairmancatsby/pseuds/chairmancatsby
Summary: It didn’t matter that Magnus could see Alec now because nothing was going to change. Absolutely nothing. So why was Alec talking more to the other and even going out with him? Still, the Guardian Angel couldn’t understand why Magnus could now see him.





	Now You See Me

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote more of Guardian Angel!Alec because a lot of people were asking for it and I scraped my old idea because probably no one would like that hahs. I got a really sweet tweet from someone the other day and that made me really happy! So tweet me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chairmancatsby) if you liked this!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> xoxo  
> Trix

“So, what’s your name, again, Guardian Angel?” Magnus asked, laughing to himself because he still could not quite believe the situation he was in. “I don’t believe I caught it the first time.”

“Because I didn’t say it,” Alec replied monotonously.

Magnus frowned, wondering if his Guardian Angel should be speaking to him so rudely. Wasn’t his well-being supposed to be the Guardian Angel’s number one priority? He thought back to the comments the other made when Camille had been around and concluded that his Guardian Angel wasn’t being rude. The other was just unfriendly. It must be because he didn’t have any friends. “Then what should I call you?”

“How about you don’t talk to me?” Alec answered curtly, arms still crossed as he leaned against the wall. Against Magnus ugly shimmering gold wallpaper. Who even had gold wallpaper nowadays? Not that Alec would know because he didn’t really take notice of other humans’ houses except Magnus’. Not that he had ever been into anyone else’s house either. It was just his bad luck that he got stuck with a human with the worst taste in décor and household furniture.

Shrugging, Magnus took a seat on his couch so that he was facing Alec and crossed one long slender leg over the other elegantly. The Guardian Angel scowled, clearly not wanting to face the human. “Whatever you say,” Magnus paused for some kind of dramatic effect. “ _Angel_.”

Alec stared at him, face aghast at how Magnus managed to make such a sacred word sound so dirty. “No.”

“No what, angel?” Magnus questioned innocently.

“Don’t call me that.” Alec raised a finger in warning as he pushed himself off the wall.

Grinning, Magnus pressed on, “why, angel?”

“Just - just.” Alec inhaled deeply and pointed his finger at Magnus threateningly. “Just don’t.”

“But I want to, angel.” Magnus leaned back against the couch and observed Alec lazily, eyes focusing on the latter’s finger pointing at him. “Or what? Are you going to zap me with some Guardian Angel magic?” He chuckled at his own joke and not for the first time, Alec wondered why he could see Magnus when he clearly could not stand the man.

Folding his finger back in, Alec slowly curled the rest of his fingers into a fist and lowered it to his side. There was a part of him contemplating to release a few golden sparks that weren’t harmful at all but he could imagine Magnus simply being in awe and not frightened. The thought of Magnus’s wallpaper also made him never want to see the colour gold again, which was troublesome because that was one of heaven’s primary colours.

Alec settled for glaring at Magnus.

“Fine,” Magnus gave in and Alec heaved a sigh of relief. “Does guardian sound better?” he asked and Alec stared at him in disbelief with his jaw hanging open. “I figured.” He seriously. “Angel sounds better, doesn’t it?”

Frustrated, the angel started to pace back and forth in front of his mortal. “Alec.”

“What?”

“My name’s Alec,” the Guardian Angel said through gritted teeth. “Call me Alec if you  _have_  to call me something.”

“Okay then. Thanks for cooperating with me,” Magnus replied politely with a smile. “ _Alec,_ ” he added for good measure, making Alec scowl again.

Now his name sounded dirty. Great.

“I don’t suppose that ‘Alec’ is short for something?”

“Call me Alec or I’m ignoring you forever,” Alec threatened, not needing his full name to be soiled as well, and Magnus pouted.

“Fine,” the human relented when he saw that Alec was looking at him with a stubborn gaze.

Nodding his head in gratitude, Alec turned and walked onto Magnus’ balcony. Resting his hands on the edge of the railings, he looked down at the rest of Brooklyn and watched as the humans walked around, going about with their daily mundane lives. There were Christmas decorations on every corner of the street and hanging outside all the different shops which lined the sidewalk, bringing out the festive season and atmosphere. Closing his eyes, Alec could hear Christmas jingles and some carolling going down on another street. Opening his eyes again, Alec turned his head around and saw Magnus staring at him. He scowled at his mortal before looking away.

It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make any sense at all. Why could Magnus see Alec now? This wasn’t supposed to happen and Alec could think of no logical explanation for it while he conveniently pushed away the only logical explanation for this. His conversation with Jace had been kept far away and deep inside his mind. There was no way that he was going to revisit it. No freaking way.

Curious, Alec turned his head back again slightly, his scowl deepening when he caught Magnus _still_ staring. Whipping his head away quickly, Alec contemplated revisiting the memory he had already buried somewhere almost unreachable in his mind.

The reason that Magnus could see him now was because he was in lo – No. No way. No way in heaven would Alec admit it out loud or even in his mind. Hearing it once from Jace’s mouth was terrible enough. Alec didn’t need a repeat of it or a reminder in his own voice.

For some reason, Alec knew that Magnus was still stubbornly staring at his back, probably waiting for Alec to say something. And honestly, Alec _should_ be the one saying something because he was the _Guardian Angel_ here and he was more used to Magnus’ presence than Magnus was used to his. So it was only fair.

But Alec was also too stubborn to make the first move and initiate a conversation or something like that.

Silence hovered in the room and despite not wanting to talk to Magnus if Alec could help it, he couldn’t stand the lack of noise any longer. “So, what now?” he asked, turning around with his arms folded across his chest.

“Dinner?” Magnus asked, his eyes shining brightly as if he had some ploy up his sleeve that Alec wouldn’t like. But there was also a hint of sincerity and tenderness in his eyes that made it difficult for Alec to say no.

 

That was how Alec found himself sitting opposite Magnus at a high-class restaurant at a table for two. There weren’t any single tables anyway and Alec would prefer a seat as well.

But Magnus had told the receptionist “table for two” and while the staff would probably have had assumed that Magnus’ partner would be arriving at a later timing, the human had smiled at Alec, acting as if his companion had already been standing next to him. Technically, Alec had been standing next to him but all the receptionist had seen was Magnus smiling at thin air. She had looked like she had wanted to refuse entry to Magnus but another waiter had gone over to him to lead him to a table.

“I will have the Christmas lobster special and my companion will have the…” he looked at Alec with a smile. “What do you want?”

Alec looked at him, incredulous and pointed at the waiter. “He can’t see me.”

“Right,” Magnus said, closing the menu before handing it to the waiter with a megawatt smile. “That will be it.”

The waiter looked disturbed but he nodded and accepted the menu from Magnus’ hand because it was his job. But nothing in his job scope stated that he couldn’t hurriedly escape creepy customers. He darted away quickly, almost knocking into another waiter on his way to key in Magnus’ order. Alec was pretty certain that that was the last time the waiter would be serving this table.

“You know you look crazy, right?” Alec deadpanned.

“But I can see you,” Magnus proclaimed excitedly in a hushed voice, suddenly considerate of other people in the restaurant. “And I can hear you,” he grinned as he pointed between them and Alec rolled his eyes. “I can even touch,” Magnus reached out but Alec pulled away with a scowl before Magnus could touch his hand.

“Don’t even try,” the Guardian Angel warned.

“Am I going to burst into flames for touching an angel?” Magnus asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he withdrew his hand and cradled it in his other.

“No,” Alec deadpanned, wondering why in the world Magnus would think that. Wondering why in the world Magnus could see him for the nth time. “But I don’t like people touching me. And…” he paused to think of another reasonable excuse. “And I don’t like people touching me.”

“You just said the same thing,” Magnus pointed out accusatorily, his tone a little louder than before, drawing some stares towards him.

“Softer,” Alec grumbled and Magnus shot him a sheepish smile before nodding in understanding. “And you’re not even supposed to be able to see me!” he added in a hiss.

“But I can,” Magnus countered, interlocking his fingers together and resting his chin on them. He was smiling proudly at Alec like being able to see him was a great achievement. In a way, it was but Alec wasn’t going to let him know why. “Because you’re an idiot,” he finished happily, quoting Alec’s words from the previous day.

Alec’s eyes widened in surprise and suddenly, he was speechless, unable to find any words to counter what Magnus said. It would also be stupid to argue with Magnus about this one because it was his own words.

“So why can I see you?” Magnus asked.

Just then, Magnus’ Christmas lobster special arrived, saving Alec from having to answer.

Magnus politely thanked the waiter who nodded quickly before walking away as hurriedly as the previous waiter had. Frowning, Magnus picked up a fork and knife.

“I think the waiters want me to leave the restaurant as quickly as possible which would explain why my food came so quickly.” He cut a piece of lobster before poking it with his fork and holding it out to Alec. “Want some?”

“No?” Alec frowned at the lobster on Magnus’ fork.

There were people looking at Magnus again but he didn’t bother this time.

“Suit yourself,” he answered with a shrug before eating the piece of meat.

Cutting a few more pieces, Magnus slowly ate as Alec watched him.

Suddenly wanting to try the lobster, Alec reached out and took a piece from the plate before throwing it into his mouth. It tasted nice, the meat soft and juicy, melting in his mouth as he chewed it into smaller bits. He nodded appreciatively and was about to take another piece when he heard a loud gasp and then noticed Magnus staring at him with his jaw open.

“What?” Alec asked, annoyed. “Can’t I eat? Have you never eaten with someone else before?”

“ _Can_ you even eat?” Magnus retorted.

“Didn’t I just eat something?”

“Won’t people see the meat floating or something?!” Magnus demanded as softly as he could.

Then Alec said nothing and simply stared at Magnus, his face expressionless.

“Say something!” Magnus hissed, unable to stand the anticipation of Alec’s reply.

Lips curving upwards, Alec burst out into laughter, causing Magnus to look around anxiously only to realise that no one could hear Alec laughing but him.

“What?”

“No one’s going to see any piece of meat floating,” Alec finally answered with an eye roll, picking up another piece of meat from Magnus’ plate just as a waiter walked over to pour Magnus more wine to prove his point. The waiter bowed his head after he was done refilling Magnus’ glass and walked away. “See?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, Magnus accepted Alec’s explanation. “Okay,” he said simply. There was another thing he needed to clarify. “So, why can I see you?”

“Why do you keep asking?” Alec asked, clearly irritated.

“Because it involves me and I want to know,” Magnus replied truthfully. “Also because I’m curious.”

“Well, curiosity isn’t going to get you anywhere in life,” Alec countered.

“What about the part about it involving me?”

“It’s not something you have to know.” There was a tone of finality in his voice and his lips were set in a stubborn line.

But Magnus wasn’t going to give in so easily. “Why can I see you?”

“You’re unnecessarily persistent, you know that?” Alec snapped. “That’s why your relationships never work out. You don’t give people space when they need it.” The words came out before Alec could stop himself and as soon as they left his mouth, he instantly regretted saying them. “I’m sorry,” Alec blurted out even before he even noticed how upset Magnus looked.

There was a mixture of sadness and amusement on Magnus’ face as if he couldn’t decide how to feel which only served to make Alec feel worse about himself.

“I’m really sorry,” Alec apologised again and Magnus shook his head, turning back to his plate in silence.

Another waiter approached their table. “Sir, will your companion be arriving soon?” he directed the question to Magnus, his head bowed respectfully

Smiling at the waiter politely, Magnus simply said, “no, he isn’t coming.”

The waiter nodded in understanding before taking his leave.

 

After paying for dinner, Magnus left the restaurant, with Alec following shortly behind.

“I really am sorry,” Alec started when they were out of the restaurant and he fell into step beside Magnus.

Turning to Alec, Magnus looked at him, amused with an eyebrow raised.

Swallowing, Alec motioned to the restaurant behind them. “For just now. About all the nasty things I said.”

Chuckling, Magnus shook his head. “Don’t mind that.” He waved his hand. “I was riling you up on purpose.”

“You what?” Alec asked in disbelief, staring at Magnus with his jaw agape.

“Annoying you on purpose?” Magnus laughed to himself. “I wanted to see how much crap you could take from me.” He flashed Alec a wide grin and the angel scowled in response. “Besides, I’ve had worst.”

Nodding, Alec said, “I know”, before he could think about how weird it would sound. He frowned, slowing down as he mulled over his words, falling behind Magnus now.

Suddenly laughing out loudly, Magnus turned around to face Alec and he started to walk backwards. “You really don’t think before you speak sometimes, do you?”

The Guardian Angel scowled, encouraging Magnus to laugh even more.

“It’s a joke, relax,” Magnus teased, grinning playfully when Alec’s expression morphed into one of confusion. “But you did sound like a stalker.”

Alec scoffed and he rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his pocket more for comfort than to keep them warm because he couldn’t even feel the cold winter air. “I _am_ your Guardian Angel,” he said despite how much he hated pointing out that fact.

“Can you do something Guardian Angel-like then? Other than telling me stories about my life that I already know,” Magnus drawled, rolling his eyes jokingly.

Smirking, Alec snapped his fingers and in a flash, he appeared in front of Magnus, casually walking a few metres in front of him. Turning his head around, Alec shot the human a smug look.

Grinning, Magnus quickened his pace slightly so that he was walking just a little behind Alec, trusting that the angel knew the way back to his loft. After all, the other had been by his side for years by now. Surely, Alec knew where he lived.

As red brick walls came into Magnus’ view just a few feet ahead, he grinned.

“Alec,” Magnus called softly once they were outside his apartment building.

The Guardian Angel stopped walking and spun around to face him, the ever-permanent frown on his face as he regarded Magnus. Upon seeing Magnus’ downcast expression, Alec’s face softened as he took one step towards Magnus.

Smiling at Alec, Magnus stepped forward as well until the top of their shoes were touching.

“Am I really that hopeless when it comes to love? Is falling in love hopeless? Is believing in love hopeless?” Magnus asked, his tone sad but his eyes burning bright with a flame that looked like it could never be extinguished.

Breathing in deep, Alec shook his head as he sucked in his lower lip. He released it with a soft pop and smiled at Magnus. “You’re not hopeless and neither is love. You’re just so kind. Too kind,” he said with a short laugh. Then he looked at Magnus seriously. “People exploit that kindness and they make use of you and yet you still…you still see the good in people. But you’re not perfect,” he continued with a wry smile and Magnus chuckled. “You get angry, you get jealous, you get moody. You’re petty at times but you’re generous most of the time. You’re selfish sometimes too. You’re just so…you’re so…” Alec sighed. “You’re just so human and so _kind_.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Magnus asked, “do you think I can ever find love?”

“I believe anyone can,” Alec answered diplomatically.

“Do you think _I_ can?” Magnus asked again.

Swallowing, Alec nodded. “I think you can find love, Magnus. One way or another. And one day, the love that you deserve will come back and find you too.”

The smile that Magnus gave to Alec lit up his whole face and Alec felt that every worth he had said was worth it.

“Do all Guardian Angels tell usually these kind of things to their charges?”

 _“No. Because not all Guardian Angels can see the humans that they’re in charge of. Because Guardian Angels are not supposed to let their charges see them,”_ Alec thought in his mind but seeing how hopeful Magnus looked made it impossible for him to say such cruel words. So he decided to say a simple white lie instead. “Yes. Yes, they do,” he lied with a smile. In his heart, he wondered if this was actually the more cruel answer.

“I see,” Magnus said with a soft chuckle, then he started to walk towards the entrance of the building. At the entrance, Magnus stopped and turned around to face Alec who was still standing at the same spot as before, unmoving. “Thank you, Alec. Thanks for the Christmas present.”

Eyes widening, Alec quickly shook his head. Did he give Magnus anything? No, he wouldn’t. He _loathed_ Christmas and he didn’t give anybody (his family wasn’t counted) anything. There was no way he would give Magnus something. Besides, he didn’t even remember handing anything over to the human…did he?

“Thank you for being kind to me,” Magnus chirped happily with a hearty laugh, throwing his head back before he composed himself, though still smiling at Alec as he disappeared behind the wall.

What?

Alec stood still, feet frozen to the ground as he stared at the spot that Magnus had just been standing at a few seconds ago, trying to process the human’s words. As Magnus’ words slowly sunk in, Alec had a strange feeling that Magnus thought that his words were a lie.

But he hadn’t been lying, not entirely anyway. He had meant almost everything he had said about Magnus being kind and generous. Though he had also meant the part about Magnus being petty and selfish at times. Also, he did believe that Magnus would find love, true love one day. He just didn’t tell Magnus that he hoped that other would find it in him.

_Because Guardian Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love with their charges._

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and love are all appreciated! They mean a lot to me!
> 
> Talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chairmancatsby)!
> 
> xoxo  
> Trix


End file.
